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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27405736">bake it 'til you make it</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetswerving/pseuds/sunsetswerving'>sunsetswerving</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, I'm right and you know it, Julie watches The Great British Bake Off, Little bit of baking, Little bit of watching people bake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:43:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27405736</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetswerving/pseuds/sunsetswerving</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re joking me, right? What could be stressful about baking?”</p>
<p>Julie rolled her eyes, “When you don’t cheat like we do, a lot of things.”</p>
<p>Luke shrugged, “I don’t believe you.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” she challenged, “let’s finish this up. Then, I’ll prove you wrong.”</p>
<p>“Deal.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Julie Molina/Luke Patterson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>215</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>JATP Appreciation Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>bake it 'til you make it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey y'all, consider this my JATP Week Day Three and Four crossover, if you will. This one has been banging around in my head for a while, so it works out!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oh shoot,” Julie pushed herself away from her keyboard after catching a glimpse of the time, “I’m sorry, guys. I gotta go.”</p>
<p>Luke set his guitar down and turned to her with a pout, “What? Why?”</p>
<p>“Got a hot date, Jules?” Reggie playfully wiggled his eyebrows.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Julie laughed lightly, “with my oven and four boxes of brownie mix.”</p>
<p>Reggie narrowed his eyes before pulling his face into a wide grin, “Because the oven is hot. <em> Nice</em>.”</p>
<p>“That’s a lot of baking,” Alex chimed in. “What are they for?”</p>
<p>She rolled her eyes, “The music program does a bake sale every year. All of the students pitch in and make all the stuff. It’s this whole big thing.”</p>
<p>Luke scoffed, “I thought your school had like a ton of money.”</p>
<p>“They do. It’s more of a tradition than a fundraiser.”</p>
<p>“Sounds like nihilistic capitalism,” Alex stated, confidence laced through his voice. Reggie and Luke nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“Did you just make that up?” Julie crossed her arms with a smile.</p>
<p>“I sure did.”</p>
<p>”It sounded good, though,” she laughed. “Anyways, I need to get started. I’ll catch you guys later.” </p>
<p>With wishes of good luck from the guys, Julie made her way back into the house. She quickly made her way to her room to change into her pajamas and put her hair into a low ponytail before jogging back downstairs.</p>
<p>She nearly jumped out of her skin when she spotted Luke sitting on the island swinging his legs back and forth, a massive grin on his face, “You know, I know you said you weren’t going to get used to this, but I didn’t think you were <em> that </em> serious.”</p>
<p>“Well, I was,” Julie shook her head, eyeing him softly, “Did you need something?”</p>
<p>“No,” Luke leaped off of the island, “I, uh, I wanted to tell you that if you put chocolate chips in the brownie mix, no one will ever know they came from a box.”</p>
<p>“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Julie raised an eyebrow at him before brushing past to rummage through the kitchen cabinets.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I mean, I guess I am,” Luke followed closely behind her, “I can help you if you want.”</p>
<p>He could disguise his motive for being there behind baking tips all he wanted, but she knew the truth; he just wanted to spend time with her, a notion that went both ways.</p>
<p>She kept her head turned to the cabinets, a subtle attempt to hide the small grin on her face, “Sure. We just have to listen out for my dad. I have no idea how I would explain a floating whisk to him.”</p>
<p>“Sweet,” she could hear the smile in his voice.</p>
<p>She felt his eyes on her as continued to search through the kitchen, pulling out the necessary utensils and mixing bowls as she came across them. Finally, she landed on the chocolate chips.</p>
<p>“Here you go, Mary Berry,” she teased as she tossed the unopened bag to him.</p>
<p>Luke’s eyes went wide as it passed through his hands and landed on the floor. He shot a sheepish grin as he bent down to pick it up, “Sorry. Wasn’t very focused.”</p>
<p>Julie playfully rolled her eyes, “Obviously.”</p>
<p>They decided they would each take two boxes, bake two at a time, and cut their work time in half. As they went about pouring out the measurements, Julie watched as Luke bent down, so he was eye-level with the counter, and poked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, dead-set on the perfect pour. He then shifted his attention to the chocolate chips, meticulously sprinkling them into the mix.</p>
<p>He did everything with his entire heart.</p>
<p>She absolutely adored him for it.</p>
<p>They finished their batches, Luke letting Julie load the trays into the oven in case his hands failed him once more. The mess that would cause was the last thing she needed.</p>
<p>Setting a timer, she turned to lean against the counter, keying in on Luke, “So, are you going to tell me how you became an expert baker, or is it just gonna be a mystery?”</p>
<p>He laughed lightly, sliding back to sit on the island, “Nah, I’m just a chocolate chip fraud.”</p>
<p>Julie crossed her arms, “You had to get that from somewhere.”</p>
<p>As Luke drilled his eyes into the floor, Julie saw his face contort quickly before he let out a deep breath. He brought his eyes back to her soon after, “I, uh, learned it from my mom.”</p>
<p>Regret filled her instantly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to –”</p>
<p>“You’re good, Jules,” Luke reassured with a grin. “She’s a really good cook, but a terrible baker.”</p>
<p>“Really?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” he chuckled, “She was, like, super involved in the church, so she’d volunteer to make things. I always helped her, so we’d throw the chocolate chips in, and I swear, everyone would think they were homemade. My dad would tease my mom so bad by telling her that lying was still a sin even if she was making brownies for <em> God</em>.”</p>
<p>Julie laughed, “That’s cold.”</p>
<p>“Drove Mom nuts, but not as crazy as when I would slip my tie off on the way to Sunday services.”</p>
<p>“Sounds <em>just </em>like you,” she teased.</p>
<p>He nodded, his eyes growing gentle, “Did you used to do this with your mom?”</p>
<p>“I only had one with her before she passed,” Julie recalled, a small smile gracing her face at the memory. “We were supposed to bake something together, but we forgot and ended up spending all night in the studio.”</p>
<p>“No way. What did you guys do?”</p>
<p>“We <em> definitely </em>didn’t bring Tupperware, stop at the grocery store in the morning, and pass their cookies off as our own.”</p>
<p>Luke roared with laughter, pointing his index finger at her, “You’re a fraud, too!”</p>
<p>“Never said I wasn’t,” she stuck her tongue out at him.</p>
<p>“Good point,” Luke chuckled, furrowing his eyebrows, “Hey, who’s Mary Cherry, anyway?”</p>
<p>She always forgot the boys were somewhat out of the loop with pop culture. They had been doing their best to catch up, but she doubted that the three teenage ghosts had encountered a dainty baking contest in their searches. The confusion on Luke’s face confirmed it.</p>
<p>"Mary <em>Berry</em>," Julie corrected. “She’s an old lady who used to be a judge on a baking show. I was totally making fun of you.”</p>
<p>“Hey!”</p>
<p>“Hey yourself. You’re the one who came in here with the baking hacks.”</p>
<p>Luke scrunched his eyebrows, “Is that what they do on the show?”</p>
<p>“No, not really,” Julie shook her head, “it’s a competition. They get three tasks, and then someone gets eliminated at the end of every episode. Oh, and they’re British.”</p>
<p>“Sounds boring.”</p>
<p>She felt her eyebrows shoot up, “Um, it’s not. It actually can be really stressful.”</p>
<p>“You’re joking me, right? What could be stressful about <em> baking</em>?”</p>
<p>Julie rolled her eyes, “When you don’t cheat like we do, a lot of things.”</p>
<p>Luke shrugged, “I don’t believe you.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” she challenged, “let’s finish this up. Then, I’ll prove you wrong.”</p>
<p>“Deal.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Four batches of brownies later, they found themselves in her room. Settling onto her bed, Julie opened her laptop to queue up the episode. Beside her, Luke made a grand gesture out of stretching, bringing his arm down to rest around her shoulders.</p>
<p>Her heart lurched when she realized they had made contact.</p>
<p>Julie played her surprise off, eyeing him with a smirk, “Very smooth.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t think it was gonna work,” Luke laughed to himself.</p>
<p>“I’m glad it did.”</p>
<p>Luke shot her a megawatt smile; she tried her best to ignore the sensation of goosebumps running through her arms. She was well past the point of return now, not that she ever had the intention of going back. Certainly not when he was near perfect in every way.</p>
<p>Except for the tangibility part, of course, but they were working on it.</p>
<p>“You ready?” She asked, pushing the laptop onto his stomach so she could curl into his side. </p>
<p>“Bring it.”</p>
<p>She pressed play and waited for the implosion. It wasn’t even fifteen minutes before his first outburst came.</p>
<p>“Oh man,” Luke gasped as a contestant’s cake cracked before him, “that sucks.”</p>
<p>“Yup,” Julie laughed, quickly hitting the pause button, “and that’s not even as bad as it gets.”</p>
<p>“There’s worse than cracked cake?”</p>
<p>“You have no idea.”</p>
<p>Luke gestured towards her laptop screen, “And is it me, or does that old lady look like she’s gonna kick this dude’s ass over this?”</p>
<p>“If you think Mary’s tough with cake, wait until you see Paul with bread.”</p>
<p>“Is he mean about it?” He asked with raised eyebrows.</p>
<p>Julie tilted her head from side to side, “Mean is kind of Paul’s default.”</p>
<p>He hummed, “I mean, he looks it, but if him and Mary ever got into a fistfight, I’d put my money on Mary.”</p>
<p>She couldn’t help but laugh at the image, “Why would <em> Paul Hollywood </em> and <em> Mary Berry </em> ever get into a fistfight?”</p>
<p>Luke shook his head with a shrug, “I don’t know what British people get up to.”</p>
<p>“Mary is eighty-five years old.”</p>
<p>“So?”</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh, I’m pressing play.” </p>
<p>He spent the rest of the episode slack-jawed as the events unfolded in front of him, expressing disappointment and wonder accordingly. By the end of the second episode, she knew she had accomplished her goal just by the look of stress written all over his face.</p>
<p>She decided to twist the knife a little.</p>
<p>Feigning a yawn, she sat up, moving to close her laptop, “Alright, I think that’s enough for tonight.”</p>
<p>“What? No, come on, Jules.” Luke reached up to gently stop her, “They’re about to make bread, and you said that thing about Paul before.”</p>
<p>“I’m tired, Luke, and I have school tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“Okay, so, easy. You can go to sleep, and I’ll keep watching.”</p>
<p>"I don't know..."</p>
<p>"I <em>need</em> to see it," he pouted. "Please? Extra please?"</p>
<p>She clicked her tongue, holding a hand up to her ear, “What did you just say? You need to keep watching this <em> boring </em> baking show?”</p>
<p>“Oh," Luke’s expression turned to one of disbelief as he realized she was teasing him, "I see what’s going on here."</p>
<p>“Go ahead, tell me I was right,” Julie goaded.</p>
<p>“Fine,’ he huffed, “you were right, as usual.”</p>
<p>“‘As usual,’” she echoed, “Nice touch.”</p>
<p>Luke smiled back at her, “And you’re beautiful, too. As usual.”</p>
<p>She laughed despite feeling her cheeks pool with heat, “You’re laying it on thick here. You must really want to watch this.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” he nodded with a sly grin, “but I was telling the truth; you’re beautiful.”</p>
<p>That route would work every time, but she’d never let him know that.</p>
<p>“<em>One </em>more episode,” she gave him a stern look before settling back into his side, “Then I actually do have to go to bed. I have a long day of pretending our brownies were homemade ahead of me.” </p>
<p>“Alright, alright. Now let’s see Paul wreck some souls over bread.”</p>
<p>“You have the most violent interpretation of this show I've ever heard anyone make.”</p>
<p>Luke let out a light scoff, "Hey, it's not my fault Mary and Paul have the scariest blue eyes in the history of the <em>world</em>."</p>
<p>He had a point, but Julie rolled her eyes, “Press play already.”</p>
<p>“You got it, boss.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you!</p>
<p>(p.s. you can find me on tumblr, @curvesofsunset!)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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